SHOOTING FOOTBALL DRILLS – IMPROVING POWER AND ACCURACY

Let’s take a look into Shooting football drills and show you ways at improving your power and accuracy in your shooting.

In football one of the best feelings you as a player can get is scoring a goal. That feeling of utter joy as the ball flies into the back of the net. Don’t you Agree?

shooting at goal

All those hours of football shooting drills and skills you learnt at training, were worth all the effort, as that moment happens and the thrill of you scoring a goal comes true. But how did this happen?

It all starts with learning the art of how to take a shot. Then when you add power and accuracy to the shot, imagine how good this feels.

No matter what position you are playing, if you are on the pitch, the ball might fall to you in a scoring position.

Will you be ready to take the shot and score?

Here are some easy tips for you to practice and start becoming a goal machine.

Getting your head over the ball!

These are the basic easy tips you need to improve your football skills when it comes to shooting.

When taking a shot especially from a distance, always remember to keep your head down and over the ball.

This insures two things will happen when you do this:

You will then be keeping your eye on the ball as you shoot

You will also be keeping the ball down so that it goes underneath the crossbar and into the net and not high and wide

Start on the training pitch by practicing getting your body over the ball and make sure your chin is resting on your chest as you take the shot, with your eyes down looking at the football.

Hit the shot and only look up when the ball has left your foot. This football skill seems simple, but without practicing it time and time again, your accuracy will not improve.

So get that head down and start shooting,

head down shooting

Remember to follow through with your leg!

Your head is down, eyes on the football, you shoot Your leg lifts back and moves in a forward motion. The ball is struck. This is where your next key element begins.

Letting your leg follow through the line of the shot. Do not stop as you hit the ball.

This action reduces your power and will probably cause you to lose accuracy as well.

The movement should be natural, just like a golf swing, you follow through. Your leg will probably go ahead of you – about 30 to 40 centimetres in the follow through.

The forward motion keeps the energy of your strike on the football, flowing with power and accuracy.

There is less chance of injury as you are not stopping half way through the natural motion of your leg movement.

Using the front of your foot to shoot!

You need to start here with a football that is still and not moving.

Standing in the upright position you should practice by placing your non shooting foot next to the side of the football.

Lock the ankle and bend the knee slightly.

Look up and aim at where you want the ball to go.

Then use your shooting leg to strike the football with the front of the foot.

Face the foot slightly downwards and straight, point the toes to the ground.

Aim your shooting foot to hit the middle of the ball. Then strike the ball, remembering to keep your head over the ball.

Using the front of the foot will improve the power in your shooting, rather than using the inside or outside of the foot – they are more for placement.

Practice this:

Set up a target to hit time and time again . Use a 2 litre empty bottle of pop – this is a cheap option. Leave some distance between yourself and the target – at least 5 metres.

Using a ball that is still, take aim and go for it. Try hitting it 10 times in a row – or as many as you can. See how far back you knock the bottle.

In the same starting position as I have described, with the ball still and standing straight, try using the inside of your foot like you are taking a free kick, head down, eyes on the ball. Standing foot next to the ball, then lock your ankle.

Lift the shooting leg and strike the ball with this instep or side of the foot. Remember to follow through again. Your power will be reduced slightly but you should be able to place the shot better.

Practice this:

Set a target up as if you were aiming for the top middle and bottom corners of the goal. Use a blank piece of A4 paper and stick it to the fence or wall.

If you want to be like Ronaldo, you should be hitting those targets every time. This only comes with hours of practice.

Keeping your eye on the ball!

If you keep watching the ball as you strike it, you will make a cleaner contact on the ball. This means more accuracy on the shot and the ball actually going where you want it to go.

Too many players lift their head and look up when hitting the ball. This causes you to lean back, which means the ball is likely to rise. Probably way over the crossbar or wide of the post when you shoot.

How can you expect the ball to go in the direction you want it to if your not looking at it.

Remember to celebrate!

soccer celebrations

Firstly remember to keep your head down, body over the ball. Keep your eye on the ball, aim for the middle of it. Let your foot follow through once you have struck the ball.

These are the basic first easy football skills to start learning and practicing when you get going when it comes to shooting,

Remember to always have fun and keep leaning. This is of course the beautiful game.

11 Comments

Ranao
· 09/04/2019 at 1:02 pm

Hello Matthew,

I am happy to read this instructive and valuable article titled Shooting Football Drills – Improving Power and Accuracy. It will certainly inspire the novice players. Tips for Shooting Power and Accuracy are very effective as well. Ish! When I was playing football in my adolescence if I could see such interesting writing! I just knew that one leg should be nearer the ball while to shoot by another leg. I did not realize the benefits of keeping the head down and over the ball.However, sincere thanks for your qualified and valuable post.

Dave
· 09/04/2019 at 10:57 am

Hi Matthew

Another great article.

Keeping your eye on the ball is always a challenge to teach. Everyone wants to see where it’s supposed to go and forget they need to hit the in the right position, and at the right angles to get it to go where you want.

I will definitely be sharing this with my sons. I particularly like the finishing touch…”Remember to celebrate!”. Following from the point above…celebration AFTER the goal, not in expectation of it.

Brent
· 09/04/2019 at 10:24 am

Wow am impressed with this article on shooting football drills improving power and accuracy. I am a lover of football and also a proud Chelsea football club supporter. I do play ball on weekends for exercise and for catching fun and I will love to improve on my shooting skills. Your article is so useful and also the video in the article will make my training and shooting skills improve faster. Great job!

Matthew Hofman
· 09/04/2019 at 12:23 pm

Hi Brent. Thank you for the kind message. I am glad I could help in some small way. If you wat to score the goals and be successful in this area of football, then you definitely need to practyour technique when shooting.

alexandra
· 09/04/2019 at 10:24 am

I have always been really bad at football but thanks to your tips on how to improve power and accuracy in football I might actually stand a chance to get better. I know that I am not keeping my eye on the ball. I am looking ahead to where I want to shoot instead of actually keeping my eyes on the target. I also always use the inside of my foot to shoot but now I know that I should shoot the ball with the front of my foot to improve the power in the actual shot. My brothers are in big trouble this summer when family football time begins.

Snap Brisk
· 09/04/2019 at 10:21 am

I think this is a great post for my husband :). He is a big football lover. Every Sunday He plays with his friends, so I can say he is quite experienced; however you are providing some great tips on improving power and accuracy. I didn’t know that football has so many different techniques and tactics.

Related Posts

Fitness and exercise Here are some simple basic fitness and exercises that you can use with a soccer ball, for a fun way to get healthier. With some useful tips along the way to staying fit and Read more…

In this article I will show you some football warm up drills to get you ready for action, both physically and mentally. The warm up in football has become common place for all footballers before Read more…